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Man arrested for firing gun at Virginia rally where car plowed into crowd

Man arrested for firing gun at Virginia rally where car plowed into crowd

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Updated: 11:12 PM EDT Aug 27, 2017

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WEBVTT rtVANESSA: POLICE SAY 52-YEAR-OLDRICHARD PRESTON WAS CHARGED FORFIRING HIS GUN WITHIN A THOUSANDrtFEET OF A SCHOOL.HE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY INTOWSON.PRESTON'S ARREST CAME AFTER THEACLU OF VIRGINIA SENT A VIDEO OFTHE INICDENT TO LAW ENFORCEMENTAGENCIES.rtPRESTON SAT DOWN WITH SETH DAVIDOF THE PURE PATRIOT PRESS FR ANINTERVIEW TWO YEARS AGO.THE CONVERSATION POSTED ONYOUTUBE IS ABOUT 20 MINUTESrtLONG, WITH PRESTON DESCRIBED ASTHE IMPERIAL WIZARD OF THEMARYLAND CHAPTER OF THE KU KLUXKLAN.PRESTON IS ALLEGEDLY THE MANSEEN FIRING A GUN rtDURING A WHITENATIONALIST RALLY INCHARLOTTESVILLIN THE ONLINE INTERVIEW, PRESTONEXPRESSED RArtCIST VIEWS ANDCALLED THE TERROR ATTACK INPARIS AND SHOOTINGS IN SANDYHOOK AND CHARLESTON HOAXES.PRESTON ALSO EXPRESSED SUPPORTrtFOR DONALD TRUMP, PRAISING THETHIN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE'SVIEWS ON IMMIGRATION.>>rt AMERICA FOR AMERICANS FIRST.I DON'T CARE IF THEY ARECHRISTIANS OR MUSLIMS THE THEYARE REFUGEES.THEY DON'T BELONG HERE.rtGO THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESSTHE WAY YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO.YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE HERE ATALL.KAI:rt PRESTON WORKED AS AMAINTENANCE WORKER AT THE BRYNMAWR SCHOOL FROM 1996 TO 2001.IN A STATEMENT, SCHOOL OFFICIALSSAID THAT WHILE PRESTON'SEMPLOYMENT WAS IN THE DISTANTrtPAST, THEY WERE DEEPLY DISTURBED

Man arrested for firing gun at Virginia rally where car plowed into crowd

A man who is suspected of firing a gun at counterprotesters during the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month has been arrested, police said Saturday.

Richard Wilson Preston, 52, was arrested following the release of a video, filmed by the ACLU of Virginia, that allegedly shows him in a verbal altercation on Aug. 12 with counterprotestors near the Southwest corner of Emancipation Park. In the video, counterprotesters appear to throw objects at right-wing marchers.

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After several seconds, the man in the video, who is wearing a load-bearing vest, with a pistol on one leg and extra magazines on the other, turns away from the argument and walks away. Before reaching the edge of the frame, he turns back, drawing a pistol and shouting "Hey, n****r."

With his pistol out and pointed at the crowd, he walks toward them before pausing, taking a step back, and racking the slide to load a bullet in his weapon's chamber. The man aims again, seemingly lower, and quickly fires a shot, before turning around, holstering his weapon, and rejoining the march.

As the camera pans to follow the man, police officers in high-visibility vests — including Virginia State Police troopers in their distinctive hats — can be seen manning barricades some 50 feet away. They appear not to react to the shot.

Aside from identifying the shooter in the video as Preston, Charlottesville police spokesman Lt. Thomas McKean declined to comment.

The Virginia State Police confirmed Saturday that their officers were nearby, but said they were unaware of the incident.

"From where they were standing, none was witness to the incident," Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told CNN in an email. "Nor did they hear the single shot being fired because it was muffled by the loud volume of the crowd yelling and chanting, drums and music."

"Had any one of our troopers witnessed that incident, they would have immediately acted just as they did for the other four arrests made during the weekend," she added.

There were no indications at the time or since that anyone was hit by the bullet.

Attempts by CNN to identify an attorney representing Preston were unsuccessful Sunday. A telephone number connected with Preston in public records had been disconnected.

Preston is charged with discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, a felony that carries up to 10 years in prison.

One person died at the August 12 rally. Thirty-two-year-old Heather Heyer was killed when a driver plowed his car into a group of counterprotestors. Police said Saturday that 35 victims had been identified in the hit-and-run incident, and that the investigation is ongoing.

The alleged driver, James Alex Fields Jr., is scheduled to appear in Charlottesville General District Court on December 14.He is charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding and failure to stop in an accident that resulted in death.

Two other men were charged this week for violent crimes related to the "Unite the Right" rally.

Daniel Patrick Borden, 18, and Alex Michael Ramos, 33, were charged with "malicious wounding" in connection with an assault at the rally.